Finding Forever
by iridescent sunshine
Summary: Voldemort is back in power, which means either horror or happiness for many, except the McKinnons, who can stay neutral. However, when an unknown force threatens Keira's father's life, she will have to choose a side - but which one is the correct choice?
1. Chapter 1

Death is a funny thing to think about. Not funny in the fact that it makes one laugh, but funny as in strange. It's always unimaginable, no matter how hard one tries. It's easy to hear about it on the news or catch wind of some nonsensical urban legend, but it is impossible to feel the real effects of a death unless it is experiences. Death never seems real until it stares someone right in the face.

Death was never an issue for Keira McKinnon. She led a relatively average life in the city of Bath, England, and was lucky enough to have two loving parents that would go to the end of the world for her. Keira was always close with her parents, and would do the same for them in a heartbeat. Throughout her seventeen years of life, Emily and Robert McKinnon had been there for their daughter through thick and thin, and molded her from a young girl to the loving, outgoing woman she had become.

Keira was preparing for her seventh and final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In spite of recent events regarding He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and the death of Dumbledore, her parents decided to send her back. All three of them knew that no place was safe, especially Hogwarts now the Dumbledore was gone, but they were confident that no harm would ever come to Keira if she kept her head down and acted like nothing had happened.

They were right. Keira emerged unscathed at the end of the summer, even braving the dangerous Knockturn Alley for her Advanced Potions supplies. The McKinnon family was happily safe and able to avoid any problems with the new Ministry. While Keira was not a pureblood, she was not classified as a Muggle-born, and neither were her parents. For the most part, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his followers ignored the McKinnons and let them live their neutral lives. They went as far as to start calling their home "Switzerland" as a joke.

Everything was set for Keira's departure the weekend before she was set to leave for Hogwarts. She had bought all of her school supplies, contacted the remainder of her friends that were returning for seventh year, and arranged a carpool to Platform 9 and 3/4 with her cousin, Ernie Macmillian. Although he was in Hufflepuff and she in Ravenclaw, they were frequently able to see each other and got along quite well, despite Ernie's somewhat pompous demeanor.

It was the night of August 29th that Keira came home to a ransacked house and a near lifeless body lying haphazardly in the study. She was utterly shocked and completely clueless as to who would target her family. There was no Dark Mark upon the house, meaning that the Death Eaters were not responsible for it. More importantly, nothing was missing from her father's study, where the worst damage was inflicted. Robert McKinnon was lucky to escape with his life, but there was a catch. One of the attackers had used a rare curse on Keira's father, rendering him virtually lifeless.

_Ebibaron Vita_, also known as the Life-Draining Curse, was not Unforgivable, but could be classified very close to one. It "drained" the victim of any life, but left them in a coma-like state. Any person who was hit with this curse was kept alive by some force, not needing food or water, but completely unable to move, think, or feel. It was a devastating spell that was almost impossible to cure. The only known remedy to the Life-Draining Curse is the Elixir of Life, which is only attained by successfully creating a Sorcerer's Stone.

The imprisonment of Robert McKinnon in his own body completely tore Keira up inside. Her father was always such a warm, loving, considerate person. She was at a loss when she attempted to think of someone who wanted to hurt her father. He dedicated his life to helping others as a Healer at St. Mungo's, and had never committed a bad deed in his life. In Keira's eyes, her father's fate was more than unfair: it was unbearable.

So, Keira made a decision. It wasn't easy, but she knew it was the only way to save her father and possibly discover who had terrorized the McKinnon household. There was only one wizard in the entire world that possibly knew how to create the Sorcerer's Stone. And that wizard was Lord Voldemort.

_______________________________________________

Ernie and Keira rode in silence to King's Cross station. Usually, the atmosphere was lighter and the two discussed their summers rather than stare out of their respective windows, but this year was different. Keira was heartbroken every time she thought of her father, which was very often, and Ernie had absolutely no idea how to console his younger cousin. All Ernie wanted to do was crack one of his famously awful jokes, and see a flicker of happiness on Keira's face.

"Bad weather, eh?" Ernie asked rhetorically, coughing to clear his throat.

Keira simply nodded, fiddling with the hem of her shirt as she adjusted her legs to be more comfortable. The drive from Bath to London was about three hours, and the pair of them had decided a week ago that rolling up to King's Cross in an old-fashioned Muggle limo would be a hilarious start to the beginning of school. Keira's grandmother on her mother's side was a Muggle, and she occasionally taught her about certain ways of life without magic. Keira rarely used anything that her grandmother told her about, but having someone in the family that knew how to hire a limo came in handy sometimes.

"We're about thirty minutes away," Ernie added in a defeated voice, "this uncomfortable ride will soon be over."

Keira immediately felt horrible after hearing the dejection in Ernie's tone. There was no need for her to dump her grief and sorrows on her cousin, especially when he was trying to make her feel better. "Really? It's felt like five hours." She responded, turning her head to face Ernie.

"You - er - yes, I know. I think it's the fact that neither of us are used to cars." He was a bit taken aback by Keira's sudden change of mood, but took advantage of the fact that she was being friendly. "Your grandma really outdid herself on this one."

"I know. How ridiculous are we going to look coming into King's Cross driving this?" Keira half-smiled and gestured at the limo, pointing the fluorescent blue minibar and a small black box that hung above it, which her grandma called a "television".

Ernie chuckled. "I don't even know what half of these bloody contraptions are. Do you think that the driver can hear us?"

"I dunno," Keira shrugged, "there's a glass wall separating us, and he's not responding to anything we say. I'm guessing we can talk about anything we want in here."

"Good." He said, letting out a breath he had been holding. "You know... our last year is going to be dangerous. Hogwarts isn't as safe as it was anymore."

Keira let her head fall on her shoulder. "I know." She replied slowly, rubbing her temples. "But we can't go around rebelling like people did with Umbridge. This is much, much different. The only way to survive is to keep our heads down."

"I don't know if I can do that," Ernie said truthfully, shaking his head. "Harry always told us during DA meetings that we had to stand up for what we believe in. I mean, what if all of us can really make a difference at Hogwarts? I'm not willing to pass up that chance."

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to pass that chance up." Keira stated firmly. "I don't want my family in any more trouble that it already is in."

"But... but it wasn't the Death Eaters. We all know that." Ernie attempted to reason with her; there was no way that Keira _couldn't_ be involved with stirring up a rebellion at Hogwarts. She had silenced herself in fifth year with Umbridge, even though she despised the woman almost as much as Harry did. Ernie knew that Keira wanted to be a part of resisting, but her family was holding her back.

"It doesn't matter." Keira sighed. "If anything, all the Death Eaters could do at this point is help me."

"Help you?!" Ernie exclaimed, his eyes flashing with anger. "What can they do, Keira? All they do is kill innocent Muggles and Muggle-borns. What they pledge their lives to is awful."

There was a moment of silence between Keira and Ernie, where Keira refused to look at Ernie and admired the weather instead, but Ernie was unrelenting in getting her attention. The two cousins could not be more polarized at this point. Although Ernie had no idea of Keira's plan, she was very well of what she had to undergo. Any rebellion would cause suspicion, and being completely inconspicuous was the only way that she could succeed...

"Here we are. King's Cross Station." The limousine driver pressed the intercom and his nasal voice reverberated throughout the car, cutting off Keira's train of thought.

"I'll get your bags," Ernie grunted, hopping out of the car, still fuming about Keira's view of the Dark Side.

There was no doubt in Keira's mind that she felt completely awful for alienating Ernie. He would never forget her remark, and who's to say that he still trusted her? He shouldn't trust her anymore. Not when she was about to commit an unspeakable act that would either be perfectly executed or would go catastrophically wrong. Keira was already at the edge of the cliff; the only thing she needed to do was jump.

Ernie and Keira made their way through the crowded train station until they reached the brick divider between Platform 9 and 10. They were both professionals and getting through to the platform, and casually leaned against the nonexistent wall, pretending to have a conversation as they slowly fell through. Once they neared the train, Ernie said a quick goodbye before meeting up with his girlfriend, Hannah Abbott, leaving Keira to stand alone.

She quickly scanned the platform for any sign of her friends. Although her best friend, Mandy Brocklehurst, was not there yet, she spotted another of her friends, Li Su, talking to Padma Patil and Michael Corner. While Padma wasn't her favorite person, Michael was a good friend and the first person she had met her first year at Hogwarts. He also had been hanging around her more frequently because of the newfound crush he developed for Li, even though Padma was obviously head over heels for him.

All of Ravenclaw's relationship problems soon seemed so miniscule to Keira. Why were they arguing over who kissed who in the common room when hundreds of people were dying? Her father laid in St. Mungo's, completely lifeless, while her friends were chasing boys without a care in the world. Keira knew she could no longer be as senseless as her friends. As much as she hated to admit it, now was the time to grow up.

Michael spotted her only seconds later and excitedly waved her over, getting Li's and Padma's attention. Li ran to Keira and engulfed her in her arms, happily jumping up and down. "I missed you!" Li squealed, grinning.

"Me too!" Keira replied, plastering a smile on her face that was not necessarily fake. No matter how superficial her friends could become, she still loved them. They really weren't that bad, anyways. "How was your summer?"

"Oh, it was great." Li flipped her long, pin-straight raven hair back over her shoulder. Li was a gorgeous Asian girl, with an oval face and almond-shaped, dark brown eyes. She wore glasses until her fourth year, when her mother had discovered a spell that cured bad vision. All Li needed to do was cast the spell on herself every morning, and she could see perfectly for the next twelve hours.

"What did you do?" Keira asked. "I mostly hung around Bath after you and Mandy visited in July. My family also took a small holiday to France in August; Paris is so amazing."

"I can imagine," Li sighed dreamily. "I so wish I could go to Paris. My family didn't go anywhere except for my grandmother's every Sunday. She's so delusional that she thinks she's back in Japan again. I think she's forgot English too."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Keira frowned, realizing that she wasn't the only one who had lost a family member this summer. Losing them didn't necessarily mean they died, but they would never be the same again. Li's grandmother probably didn't even remember her own name, while her father couldn't even say Keira's. She hadn't told anyone about what happened to her father, and the only reason Ernie knew was because he was part of the family.

Li shrugged. "It's alright, really. We were all kind of expecting it. She is 96, after all."

Keira was about to reply when she was cut off by a leggy blonde galloping in their direction. Li shrieked with delight and ran up to meet Mandy, Keira's resident best friend. Mandy was taller than most of the boys in their school, standing at a towering 6'1" with a stick-thin body. She had large, frosty blue eyes and a platinum blonde pixie cut that made her appear to be the epitome of fashion. While not many people would think that she was once the ugly duckling when looking at her, Keira remembered when she was awkward and gangly, with a mop of dirty blonde hair that fell to her waist. She marveled at how people could so suddenly change.

"Have you forgot about me, Keira?" Mandy asked from behind her, already making Li look like a dwarf as she stood next to the lanky blonde.

"Of course not!" Keira exclaimed, walking up to meet her two best friends and beginning a group hug. "I've missed you guys so much."

"Me too," Mandy replied, the first one to break free of the embrace. "Now, we'd better get on the train before it starts rolling away without us." And, sure enough, steam had begun to billow, and students were saying their last goodbyes to their parents before boarding the train.

All three of them grabbed their bags, owls, and books to set off to look for a somewhat empty compartment. The first once held a couple of fifth year Hufflepuffs, the second a mixture of third year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, and the last three dejected Slytherins. Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle sat, completely motionless, in a room with the blinds drawn shut. They barely looked up at the girls before they quickly shut the door to the compartment, eyes wide.

"He... well, damn." Li said, unable to conjure up the correct words.

"I can't believe he'd back," Mandy breathed, shaking her head in disbelief. "I mean, I knew that he would be, but... to actually see him in person after last year is just..."

"Heart-stopping." Keira finished flatly. "He's even Head Boy."

"Well, obviously." Mandy said in a reasonable tone. "Now that Snape is Headmaster, both Slytherin Prefects are Head Boy and Girl."

"So that means -"

Li's sentence was cut off by footsteps behind them. They wheeled around to meet none other than the subject of conversation: Pansy Parkinson. "Yes, I am Head Girl." She sniveled, crossing her arms and shooting them icy glares. "Now, I suggest you find yourself a compartment before I report you for misconduct."

"Misconduct?" Li raised an eyebrow. "All we're doing is walking down the train corridor."

Pansy's thin lips curved into a smirk. "Things are different this year, Su. Your... _kind_ of people are no longer in charge. Find a compartment, now."

Pansy was, of course, referring to Li's blood status. She was, more or less, a Muggleborn. Although her paternal grandparents were wizards, her father was born a Squib and married a Muggle. It left for a rather confusing family line which Li was not embarrassed about. In fact, she defended her family to the end, and what Pansy had just said made her blood boil.

"Don't," Keira whispered under her breath to Li. "It's only going to make things worse. Let's just leave."

Li grudgingly agreed, and the three Ravenclaws set off to find their companions.


	2. Chapter 2

Keira suddenly woke up with a start in the middle of the night. She had no idea what time it was and why she quickly became so alert. Ever since her father had been in St. Mungo's, she kept on having recurring dreams of hearing her father's voice in the dark, but never being able to find him. These dreams constantly kept her awake, but she was usually left feeling dejected and groggy. This time, however, everything seemed eerily clear. She slowly sat up, grabbing a sweater from her barely unpacked trunk and tiptoed downstairs to the common room.

The Ravenclaw common room had not changed in the slightest since Keira's sixth year. The stone staircase still bordered the bookshelf and armchairs, and Keira's favorite spot, a loveseat directly across from a window looking out on the grounds, was available. She made her way over to the loveseat and curled up next to the armchair, staring out into the pitch-black grounds. The only visible source of light was a faint lantern outside of Hagrid's hut, even though Hagrid no longer lived there.

So many things had changed since sixth year, but not just the staff of Hogwarts. Dumbledore was dead, and Snape had taken his place. Severus Snape was now the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Keira marveled at how incredibly odd it sounded. So many new professors had been instituted after an incredible amount had to flee due to their allegiance to Dumbledore. All Keira could do was hope that she would successfully keep a low profile and avoid any possible conflict in order to succeed.

Her entire plan of reviving her father never ceased to cross her mind. Here she was, sitting in the common room and thinking about a change of professors when what she had to accomplish this year crept into the back of her mind. Once she thought about it, she could never stop. She had no idea how to go about executing this plan of hers, but she was slowly beginning to form an idea. As soon as she found a way to begin the vision she had in her mind, the rest would be easy... or so she assumed.

All of this thinking had tired Keira out once more. She rose from her feline position, perched on the loveseat, and stood up, walking back up the stairs and into her bed. Everything was how she had left it mere minutes ago; Li, Mandy, and Padma were all fast asleep due to the enormous amount of food the three girls had consumed. Keira, on the other hand, who usually had a sizable appetite, barely ate anything at the feast. Naturally, she had lost her appetite once her father had been incapacitated, but none of her friends knew. Her plan was to keep it that way.

______________________________________

Keira woke up, yet again, but this time the sun shone in, reflecting off her handheld mirror into her eyes. She groaned and flipped over to her side in an attempt to avoid the glare, but she was no match for Mandy Brocklehurst.

"Up, my sweet morning glory!" She sang, perching herself on the edge of Keira's bed and leaning next to her. "A new day is born and we are prepared to face the trials and tribulations of this very afternoon."

Keira opened one eye, simply to roll it in Mandy's direction. "Bloody hell, when did you become so poetic?"

"Just when your mum wrote me this beautiful sonnet, I could not get over how the declaration of love moved me so much! It was like -"

"Shut your mouth," Keira said, cutting Mandy off and hiding a smile. "What time is it, anyways?"

"7:30, love," Li emerged from the bathroom, completely dressed and ready to leave, "you were the last one up. We let you sleep in since we know how late you sleep in the summer."

"Thanks," Keira replied, sitting up and yawning. "Well, is there anything new I should know before classes, or are we all similarly informed?"

Mandy shrugged her shoulders as she began to get ready in the mirror. "I'm guessing this entire year will be as awkwardly strange and uncomfortable as dinner last night. Basically, all of the remaining Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs are as silent and docile as humanly possible while the Slytherins think Headmaster Snape is the second coming of Jesus."

"It's weird," Padma piped in, "I never thought this would happen. Doesn't it feel like something isn't right?"

Keira snorted. "Nothing's right," she slipped on her robe and pulled up her socks, "I mean, come on, 'the Harry Potter' is gone and the Slytherins are literally in control of us. Anything we do wrong will be reported and we're going to face worse consequences than Dumbledore would ever give."

"I never thought seventh year would feel this wrong..." Li trailed off and shook her head. It was obvious she had more of a reason to be nervous than any of the other girls. She was nowhere near a pureblood, and although she was not Muggle-born, the Death Eaters could easily classify her as one and take her away. Even coming back to Hogwarts instead of hiding was an incredibly brave move on her part, but bravery doesn't always equal happy endings.

"We'd best be getting on our way, whether or not You-Know-Who is going to pop out from behind and gargoyle and slay us all while dearest Snape does a jig around our lifeless bodies." Mandy interjected, heading towards the door. She could be absolutely politically incorrect and insensitive, but the way she went about it was always hilarious and livened up an awkward or depressing situation.

Li laughed and followed Mandy while Padma and Keira quickly hopped down the stairs as well. The group of four traveled down to the Great Hall, which was surprisingly full. The air was, as predicted, uncomfortable for any students that were not Slytherins. There was also no table as full as the Slytherin one. Everyone there seemed to be jovial in the most sinister way possible, and even though Keira had no desire to be a Slytherin in the slightest, she envied their carefree nature in times like this.

Her eyes scanned the Slytherin table as she sat down at her own. The usual faces were present, but Draco Malfoy was mysteriously missing. It was no surprise; after everyone found out He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's plan to kill Dumbledore with Draco as the murder weapon, no one would ever view him in the same way. He may not have been a prominent Death Eater, but he obviously was one, and that terrified everyone. Death Eaters were usually grown adults, not seventeen year old boys that still attended school. The thought of Draco Malfoy scared Keira, but she needed him. Without Malfoy, there would be almost no hope of her ever succeeding, and if she couldn't figure out a way...

"Keira! Merlin, are you ever going to eat?" Mandy asked loudly, waving a piece of toast in her face and interrupting her thoughts.

"I - yeah," Keira said slowly, shaking her head and snatching the piece of toast. She grabbed some jam and attempted to shove the intruding thoughts out of her mind in order to interact with her friends. "What's everyone's schedules?"

"I've got Advanced Potions first." Li said, studying the piece of paper that had just been given to her. "What about you?"

"Advanced Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Charms, and then Transfiguration." Keira replied. "God, I never knew it was this much work to become a Healer."

Li snorted. "Studying to be an Auror isn't easier at all, either. I've pretty much got the same schedule as you, except Transfiguration and Herbology are switched. What about you, Mandy?"

"Well, since I have no plan in life and have decided I will follow in the footsteps of our beloved Sybill Trelawney, I have Arithmancy, Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, and Charms." Mandy looked at her schedule, frowning. "Who the hell is going to be in Divination with me? No one but Lavender Brown actually buys that load of crap."

"Well, then why did you take it?" Li asked.

Mandy shrugged. "I thought it would be easy. I really do have no idea what I want to be. I just know I like Arithmancy, but I hate Divination. Kind of a conundrum there, I suppose."

"You could be a Arithmancer!" Padma suggested. "I've always thought that was so interesting. There aren't many out there, either."

"Maybe," Mandy mused, munching on a bagel. "It seems a bit hard though, don't you think?"

"Don't complain about hard work," Keira groaned, standing up and swinging her bag over her shoulder. "If you'll excuse me, I have Advanced Potions to attend to now, which has a double class period. Have fun at Arithmancy..."

Li stood up and followed Keira out of the Great Hall and down to the dungeons. They made small talk on the way down, discussing the remainder of their summers and, for the most part, Keira's holiday in France. She and her parents had traveled to France for a two weeks to visit her cousins in the country and see all of the sights Paris had to offer. Only three weeks later, her father was attacked, but it was better to remember the happy memories her family shared. It helped her forget the year to come.

All conversation came to an abrupt halt when the two girls found Draco Malfoy skulking outside of the Potions room. He apparently had the same idea as Keira and Li to arrive early to class, but this small similarity between them didn't make this any less uncomfortable.

"Oh, hello..." Li said trailing off when she realized her attempt to be friendly had failed miserably. Malfoy simply gave her a withering look from his slouched position against the wall and proceeded to focus his attention on the stone floor once more.

"Well then," Keira exclaimed, loud enough for Malfoy to hear, "what did you do this summer? I'm tired from talking about Paris. Tell me about you." Keira tended to babble in awkward situations, and she could feel a bout of incessant talking coming on.

"I already told you, my summer was awful. Minus staying with you in Bath, of course." Li sighed, rolling her eyes. "I was at my grandma's for most of the time, and when I wasn't I was babysitting my brother while my parents went out to Muggle functions."

Keira sharply drew in a breath as her chest tightened. She could see the same effects happening to the Slytherin they had previously been trying to ignore. His head shot up and eyed Li while she was obviously unaware of her faux pas. "Muggle" was not a term to use in Hogwarts now, especially in front of a known Death Eater. Even the slightest affiliation with a Muggle or Muggle-related activities could grab the Death Eaters' attention, which was never a good thing.

"What?" Li asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why do you look so scared?"

Keira was unable to answer as students began filing into the Potions hallway, making it impossible to tell Li the error in what she had said. Everyone began to walk into the classroom, and as Keira joined the crowd of students, she caught a flash of Draco Malfoy once more. His entire body seemed to tense up as he gripped his wand in his pocket. He didn't look angry, but completely conflicted while his eyes followed the back of Li's unsuspecting head as she entered the class. Keira wasn't sure what he was about to do, but she stopped all movement as she carefully watched him in case she had to protect her friend.

Slowly, Malfoy's grip relaxed and he seemed to calm down. He was completely unaware that Keira was standing a mere five feet away from him, watching his every move like a hawk. It was only when he began to walk forward that he spotted her. At first, he said nothing, but shot her the same look he had given Li minutes before. Keira wavered under his glare and slowly turned around, shuffling into Potions class with her head down. She took her seat next to Li and pulled her books out; the entire time she couldn't stop thinking about her first encounter with Draco Malfoy. He had no idea how much he meant to her.


End file.
